What They Say:
“Challenging the Elite Ten”
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
It’s that time again: time to return to our favorite bunch of prodigious high school chefs, allowing us to again enjoy the most incredible food porn in anime, so delicious that it almost inspires human porn from those who eat it. There can be no substitutes. Welcome back to the Shokugeki.
This time, we jump right into the action, with Souma and Megumi remembering their meeting with the Elite Ten, an encounter that presented the opportunity for Souma to challenge these gods of the academy to the holy battle that serves as the ultimate law of the land. Needless to say, most of these alpha dogs see Souma as little more than an annoying bug to be ignored, but Kuga seems to be a fairly fun-loving guy, if not quite to the extent of Isshiki’s naked apron antics. That’s not to say he’ll simply accept a Shokugeki challenge from any hotheaded kid who gets in his face, so he at least insists that Souma prove his worth in some way. Fortunately, there’s a little school festival coming up, and for Totsuki, that naturally means that everyone just sets up booths in which they sell food. And because of the scope of this school, the Moon Festival gets half a million attendees to keep up with. Souma uses that as his chance to beat Kuga in something and ultimately get his Shokugeki, but few get on the Elite Ten by being a normal solo chef. This kid has identical bald men in perfect unison as far as the eye can see, each able to perfectly whip up a dish that has Souma analyzing it with such vigor it’s a wonder his clothes don’t come off, all in what appears to us as mere seconds. How can Souma possibly beat the sheer quantity of this juggernaut, working entirely alone and with no grand plan? It’s hard to imagine that simply stealing customers from right under Kuga’s nose will be feasible, but this wouldn’t be such a great series if the battles weren’t so thrilling. The episode makes sure to end on a humorous note as well, with Souma realizing that he has more at stake than simply not getting his Shokugeki.
With such a strong beginning, it’s impossible not to love the delicious third course this series is serving. The artwork and animation are absolutely on point. J.C. Staff is killing it so much that I want to believe One Punch Man might be okay in their hands, although there’s not a great deal of intensely detailed animation in this particular episode. Seeing the food from this series for the first time in a year is always astounding; I can never really believe just how good it all looks. The ED showcases so many different dishes in its first few seconds that I had to check the existence of my own clothes by the time those scenes ended. Following that up with flashbacks to what has come before is a good way to round out the ED, although of course the OP is always gorgeous.
The theme songs by the wonderful ZAQ and nano.RIPE are a joy as always, but Katou’s background music is also an excellent element to return to. He doesn’t have many other amazing soundtracks under his belt, but this one shows his potential so beautifully that I’d love to see him in charge of another work where he can really show his skills. It’s a good time all around.
In Summary:
We’re back again! The first episode dives right into Souma’s attempt to get a Shokugeki or two with some Elite Ten members, and it promises some thrilling challenges. Every aspect is right as we’d want to see it, from the food porn to the artwork and animation to the music. It feels great to be back, and I greatly look forward to seeing what else this season can bring us during its run.
Grade: A
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Roku 3, Sceptre X425BV-FHD 42″ Class LCD HDTV.
